Monday, October 4, 2010

A Look into the 2010-2011 Boston College Eagles' Basketball Schedule

The Boston College Eagles have begun to usher in a new era. After the termination of head coach Al Skinner on March 30th, the Eagles began a coaching search that ended with the red-hot Steve Donahue getting the call.

Donahue led Cornell to the Sweet 16 this past season and left the university as a three-time defending Ivy League champion. After a 15-16 record overall in 2009-2010, the Eagles look to begin a new, more intense style of basketball in an effort to resurrect pride in a program that has lacked the intensity over the past few seasons.

Donahue has done a terrific job on the recruiting trail, reeling in already five prospects for 2011, three of which are from the state of California. However, none of these future BC Eagles will be on the court in 2010-2011, but instead Donahue has a roster full of upperclassmen ready to go.

Led in point by junior guard Reggie Jackson and seniors Corey Raji and Joe Trapani at the forward positions, the Eagles will look to improve in an ACC conference that is headlined by the defending national champion Duke Blue Devils.

Josh Southern and Courtney Dunn will help the load inside for the Eagles, as well as Raji and Trapani who can both play the power forward position when needed. Senior guard Biko Paris and junior Dallas Elmore will offer depth in the back court and it will be interesting to see what contributions the Eagles can get from freshmen Danny Rubin and Gabriel Moton.

The schedule for the upcoming 2010-2011 season has been released and for Boston College it is highlighted with tough non-conference games at both home and on the road, as well as a trip to Orlando, Florida as part of the Old Spice Classic. The usual and brutal ACC schedule will consume the early months of 2011, as expected.

The Eagles will open up with three straight home games, hosting St. Francis (NY), Yale, and Holy Cross. Following the home stand, BC will travel south to Orlando for the Old Spice Class on November 25th through the 28th. Boston College will compete in the early-season tournament that showcases the like of Texas A&M (the Eagles first round match-up), California, Georgia, Manhattan, Notre Dame, Temple, and Wisconsin.

BC will roll into the month of December with three consecutive games in the Boston area. Two of which will be at home in Chestnut Hill against the likes of Indiana and Providence, with a match-up at the Garden in Boston against UMass mixed in-between.

The ACC schedule opens up early for the Eagles on December 12th with a road game at Maryland, giving fans a quick peek at an early season ACC match-up. Last year, BC dominated the glass in a nail-biting win over Miami (FL) at home in early December.

Boston College will host Bryant and Bucknell in back-to-back games before the Christmas holiday and then take a two game road trip to the likes of Rhode Island and South Carolina (New Years Day).

On January 5th, the Eagles will once again host Harvard at Conte Forum, a match-up that BC is hoping will go better than it has in the past. Harvard led by head coach Tommy Amaker has defeated Boston College in back-to-back seasons.

The game against Harvard wraps up non-conference play for BC, as the Eagles will quickly move into their ACC schedule with a pair of home games, hosting Georgia Tech and North Carolina State, before taking a trip to Miami (FL) on January 15th.

Boston College will face Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland twice in ACC play with tough road games at Duke, Florida State, and Clemson mixed in through late January, early February. The Eagles wrap up their regular season at home against Wake Forest on March 6th, before the beginning of the ACC Tournament.

Boston College has an experienced, veteran lineup that is missing three expected contributors following transfers this past spring. However, Donahue remains confident the Eagles can improve on their 15-16 record and 8th place ACC finish from a season ago.

If Donahue can get his Eagles squad to mesh together nicely under his new system, BC may be able to surprise this season led by Preseason Wooden Award Nominee Joe Trapani and flashy scorer Reggie Jackson.